MEMORIES

Over this past American Thanksgiving weekend, a Michigan station I can pick up here in Ontario was playing The History of Rock and Roll, one of those pre-recorded chronological series of songs and trivia. I tuned in mainly for the early stuff, and was just starting to taper off a bit when I happened to catch them featuring The Doors. I came in the middle of some guy (band member? critic?) saying that "Riders on the Storm" was the last song Jim Morrison ever sang. It was the last song on the last album he did, and when the vocals were done, Jim told the rest to wrap it up technically without him - he was going to split to Paris and get down. Then they all said their "goodbye"s and "see ya when ya get back"s. Only, of course, Jim didn't get back. I suppose if one specializes in Doors trivia, this is a well-worn piece of info, but I'd never heard it before. And I'm glad I did. Now whenever I'm in the mood for some Doors, and flip their GH into the machine, that song will carry extra meaning for me.

Then this afternoon I was cruising around YouTube when I came across a really good video accompanying Don McLean's hit, "American Pie." Among the images were pictures of both Kennedys, Martin Luther King Jr., as well as Buddy, Ritchie, J.P., Janis etc. And I just had one of those moments. You know, the kind where the weight of what's been lost is perfectly balanced with that of the legacy left behind.

Okay, before things get too sappy here, let me quickly mention that in one of the essays in Papa Do Run, I turn all the other annotations on their ears, and "prove" that "American Pie" isn't really about Buddy etc after all. Who then? Would you believe Dinah Shore? Aw c'mon, won't you even consider it? It's all in good tongue-and-cheek fun, but who knows, I just might make a believer out of you... Meanwhile, check out the YouTube vid, The Meaning of American Pie, posted by lonestarsound. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycgegp0KdE4